by Karen Ruth
You’re right.” I responded trying to get my breathing back to normal.
We were nearing the clearing when Lucas knelt towards the muddy floor and inspected something. I got down beside him trying to see what it looked like. It was a mark of a shoe. Someone had to have come by here earlier that day. It was the mark of sneakers. Instinctively I thought of Cath and I looked at Lucas anxious.
“Do you think it is Cath?” I asked him.
He grabbed a bit of mud in his fingers and smelt it. He shook his head up and down confirming my belief. Relief exploded through my body. We were on the right track of finding her. The wind strongly blew towards us making my hair fly backwards. My nose instinctively smelled the air. I caught a whiff of something that caused my blood to go cold and my bones to shake. Dread filled all over me as I looked over towards Lucas who went as still as a deer caught in a headlight. He slowly looked over at me, checking me over. He must have wanted to make sure I was ok. The look I gave him caused him to slowly shake his head up and down and put a finger over his lips. He confirmed that what I smelt was true. That Lucas and the other members of my last group were nearby.
Lucas’s voice entered my head speaking to the others.
“We need all of you to drop what you are doing and immediately come over to the clearing. We need backup! Catherine is somewhere nearby. We caught footprints of her and they smell fresh. We have a major problem. She is somewhere out here but Seth and the pack are nearby!”
I was extremely thankful for the whole talking in the head thing. It made our communication so much easier. No way did I want to face this group alone again, nor did I want to scream at the others. Doing that would cause the others to hear us as well. That was not something I, nor anyone else wanted.
“You’re going to need to get into your wolf form,” Lucas instructed me immediately going into authority mode.
I had no problem with it.
“I will do the same.”
Lucas began taking off his shirt. I couldn’t help but watch him as he did it. His body was rock hard containing a six-pack. I shook my head trying to clear it. Getting distracted right now was the last thing I needed. I found the nearest tree and went behind it. I began taking my clothes off as fast as I could. Once they were off I changed into my wolf faster than I ever remember doing it. I padded over to where Lucas was, my white flank blowing in the wind. Instead of the human version of Lucas, now contained his beautiful, black, mysterious wolf. I sat down next to him facing the direction in which I smelt the others. My ears focusing on the direction trying to pick up any noise so I would be alert if any of them appeared.
The sound of a snapping twig came from behind me. I immediately stood up and turned around, alert. My eyes straining to see in the distance of who it possibly could be. Lucas’s tail flicked across my back trying to calm me.
“Relax dear sweet Nina, it’s just Reed and Caleb.”
I didn’t even realize how tense I was until it loosened up some by what Lucas said. I glanced over towards him. He was watching straight ahead, very alert to his surroundings. Unlike me though, he didn’t seem nervous or scared. He looked very strong. Just then Reed’s red coat and Caleb’s blackish-grey coats came visible. They padded over to us and stopped at our feet. They didn’t look anywhere near out of breath which was extremely good. The last thing we needed right now to have everyone tired.
“How far away are the rest of you?” Lucas asked them. “
We are just about there!” Liam responded.
Seconds later Eli responded. “We are entering there now!”
Miraculously, they all arrived at the same exact time. Liam, Dante, and Darius from the left. Eli and Jerimiah from the right. Everyone was in their wolf form and ready to go.
Lucas stood up from his sitting position. He had the face of determination and authority.
“Okay here’s the plan,” Lucas instructed. “We must all go in together; I will stay in the front. Reed, you can be on my left side. Then I want Liam and Caleb to be directly behind us along with Nina.” Lucas nodded to me and kept going. “Jerimiah, Dante, and Eli, you three will cover the back. I want everyone in a straight line. This can become very dangerous very fast. Usually, I would let you in the front line with me Nina, but not this time. It is too dangerous; I don’t know what they will do to you. You are their biggest prize and we must make sure that they cannot get to you no matter the cost.”
He walked over to me and whispered in my ear. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
I closed my eyes as his words really affected me. We were moving so fast but yet again I didn’t care. I couldn’t control myself around Lucas. My feelings for him were too great. When I opened my eyes, he was already in front of the group and was instructing us to get into our positions. I did what I was told to do. I stood in the middle right behind Lucas. Liam was to my left while Caleb was to my right. Liam looked over to me and bowed his head and I did the same. We shared our respect for one another as we all began to walk forward to the immense danger that was right in front of us. None of us knew what kind of fight this would entail. Just as we thought that the moment couldn’t get any worse, a crack of thunder and lightning struck the sky, echoing throughout the forest. Rain began to pour wiping away all evidence of Catherine’s small footprints.
As we approached the clearing, my white fur bristled. Directly in front of us was Seth and the rest of his group. Obviously, they knew that we would come sooner or later. Something was definitely wrong, I could sense it. I couldn’t explain how, but I just knew.
“Well hello there,” Seth said in his wolf form.
He was standing in the front with Rafiq. The others were lined out behind him similar to the same position that we were in. None of us answered his welcome.
“Ahh Nina,” Seth's annoying voice said. “Why are you not in the front? Won’t you let me see your pretty little face?”
I growled in response which only fueled Seth.
He laughed and said “ahh is the little puppy unhappy. Does it need to go back inside where it came from? Is the little princess afraid that she will get all drenched?”
Caleb leaned in towards me. “Careful, he is only trying to aggravate you.”
I gave Seth a death stare but said nothing.
“What are you doing here Seth,” Lucas questioned him in a dark voice that felt like a dagger. One that I have never heard him use before. By the looks of it, it even threw Seth off as he stuttered a little bit trying to think about what he was going to say.
“We came to show you our new addition to our pack. I think you will like it.”
It? Why would you say it instead of him? I thought to myself. Well, yet again it was Seth who could be quite rude to everyone especially if you were new.
“Come forward.” I heard Seth say as he flicked his black head.
Someone moved from the back of the pack, hidden from view. They emerged slowly not giving me the view that I needed to see who it was. Finally, when they reached the front I could make out who it was. Everything happened so fast, I moved into overdrive. I didn’t even think, I just acted upon it. I ran forward but was blocked off by Reed and Lucas who pinched together. Liam and Caleb came closer to me along with Jerimiah, Eli, and Dante. I was boxed in and not able to move. I struggled a bit but it was in vain as I couldn’t budge any of them.
“Catherine!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and whimpered.
“Calm Nina,” Lucas said in my head. I looked over at him and gave him the deadliest glare I could.
There was no way I could in this situation. My nightmare came to life. Catherine looked over towards Seth who nodded at her. I could only guess that they were talking amongst themselves. Catherine’s voice, which is usually sweet and kind, came out evil.
“Hello, little sister. Don’t I look good with these guys.” She said as she gestured to the rest of them.
“What are you doing with them?!” I questioned her.
“I
t’s simple. They treat me like I belong. I can hear them and they respect me, unlike you guys. I got tired of seeing little sweet Nina get everything she wants. She gets the boys; she gets the perfect little life. Well, I’m not going to deal with it anymore. But I did beat you to one thing.”
“And what is that?” I glared at her.
“I’m going to marry Seth.”
My eyes widened and I choked, coughing loudly. “You’re going to do what?!” I yelled. “You're insane. Please, Cath, this isn’t you. Seth is evil, don’t buy into him.”
Seth walked in front of Cath and dipped his tail towards her telling her silently that her turn was done.
She inclined her head to me and said “goodbye Nina,” and went to the back of the group to where she supposedly belonged according to Seth.
“So Nina did you like our new addition.”
“Screw you,” I said to him in a snarl.
He laughed at that and said, “feisty this evening, aren’t we? You getting a little too wet for comfort?”
It began to really pour now, making the visibility near impossible to see. Thankfully, with our heightened eyesight it really helped. “I do have a proposal to make you,” Seth said.
“Go on,” I said to him intrigued by what he said.
“Well if you want to hear it you’re going to have to come closer to me. The rain is making hearing difficult.”
“In your dreams!” Lucas yelled at him. “Nina isn’t going anywhere near you.”
The rest of our pack snarled in protest along with him. “Well, then it looks as if Nina is never going to get her sister back.
“Please Lucas,” I begged him.
“No Nina, it’s too dangerous. I can’t risk letting you get hurt.” He looked back at me and for the first time, I saw pain within his eyes. They searched mine, pleading with me.
“Oh please, Lucas,” Seth said. “I’m not going to hurt Nina. That will just go against my plan that I have set up.”
“Please,” I begged Lucas further as a tear slid from my eyes.
Instead of answering he ducked his head and moved to the left a little gaining me some entry. He let me move in front of him but only about half a body length before he put his tail on my back signaling me to stop. Seth went the rest of the way until he was right in front of me. I felt Lucas’s body tighten and prepare to fight if need be.
“That’s much better isn’t it?” He asked me.
Without waiting for me to respond he moved along with what he had on his mind. “Do you want your sister back?” He asked me smiling, knowing the answer.
“Cut the crap,” I responded sharply at him. “You know I do.”
“Hmm very well. If you want your sister back, you only have to do one small thing.”
“And what is that?” I asked him stubbornly.
“Marry me and I’ll let her go.” I scoffed.
“Back at this are we? There is no way that I’ll ever marry a filthy scoundrel like you.”
“Very well, I guess we will have to make this difficult for you then. You have until midnight tomorrow to arrive back at this same location. Either you will marry me then or something bad will happen. Could be your sister or maybe even that precious boy over there?” He flicked his head over towards Lucas.
Pain struck my heart but I held it through.
“If you think threatening me will help you your dead wrong,” I said icily to him.
“Am I?” Seth pushed me.
“What about my sister?” I questioned him trying to look for her within the crowd.
“You lost your chance, you’re never getting her back.” Seth turned his back to me and began walking the other way.
I stood there frozen fighting my every nerve to attack him. I know it would just end in a fight that could possibly hurt the ones I care about. As soon as Seth was a few feet away from me, Lucas sprung up beside me and pressed his body to mine. As soon as the other pack members were out of the clearing, I collapsed onto the wet, muddy ground. My world felt like it was crashing at my feet and there was nothing I could do about it. A tear fell from my eyes. Lucas cuddled up beside me and let me rest my head against him. I couldn’t let anyone hurt either my sister or Lucas. I just couldn’t.
“I know what you are thinking Nina, but you must not go tomorrow night. He won’t do anything to your sister. It is the only thing that he has leverage against you.”
I looked directly at him, right into his eyes. “But what about you?” I asked him.
Lucas curved his lips in a small genuine smile.
"Trust me, Nina, I can handle myself against Seth.”
I tried to believe him, but at the moment I was too broken to believe anything. The only thing that I knew was that I needed to find a way to save my sister no matter the cost.
I looked over my back towards the others to see what they were doing. They all sat down with their tails wrapped around their legs as they said nothing. Lucas nudged me with his nose and said, “Nina, we better start heading back. You’re going to get sick if you stay out here any longer.”
I nodded my head in acceptance. Usually, I wouldn’t want to show so much emotion to others, but right now I really didn’t care. Besides, with this pack, I trusted each and every one of them. I didn’t feel the need to hide anything like what I did with Seth. I hoped that Seth would treat Cath right but I highly doubted it. I knew first hand on what he thought of women and what he did with them. It made my heart hurt worse and I shuddered at the thought. I couldn’t see Catherine hurt like that, it would tear me apart. If he hurts a single strand of hair on her head I swore to myself that I would rip Seth apart limb by limb. Lucas came closer to me giving me the rest of his body heat as I began to sit up. He must have either thought I was cold by the shudder or he is listening to what I am thinking. Right now, I didn’t really care whichever one he was doing. In addition, I wasn’t going to complain about the extra heat, I was beginning to get very cold.
Reed emerged from behind me and came up to my right side. He pressed his body against mine as well trying to warm me up. As I stood up, I saw that my white coat was filled with black grimy mud. I shivered from the cold that I was beginning to feel. My toes were becoming numb. I was thankful that I was still in my wolf and had the extra protection of her thick coat. I was also thankful for the fact that we were all beginning to huddle together as we made our trek back to the castle. Nobody was saying a word, afraid to break the thick ice that just occurred.
Once we arrived back in front of the castle, everyone bowed their head to me and went off in their own direction. For the first time since I have been here, Reed didn’t flirt or say any smart remarks. He must have known that right now wasn’t the time. He really was smarter than I always made him out to be. Lucas gently nudged me towards the door with the tip of his nose.
“Let’s get you inside in your bed,” Lucas said to me calmly.
I couldn’t talk but I gave a subtle nod of my head. He opened the door and we went right inside. I knew exactly where to go being that we were here for a little bit. I came to the door and stopped. I looked right at it and let out a groan of defeat. I couldn’t get the door open in my wolf form. Just then I heard running coming from down the hall. Curious, I peeked my head around Lucas to see what it was.
“I’m coming!” Cassie yelled as she made it over to us and opened the door.
I nudged her with my head and she laughed giving me a good pet. “You’re welcome! Nina dear, you should probably jump in the shower. I will prepare some clothes for you to wear. We don’t want you getting sick. Lucas, you should probably take one as well.”
I saw him shake his broad head and say in my head “I will take one later, I want to make sure you’re ok.”
“Thank you, Lucas, but I’m ok. Well, as ok as I’m going to get. I am just going to take a shower and I’ll be back out as soon as I am done. If you want, you can take one and if you are done before me you can meet me in the living room?”
“Hmm alright, I will see you soon then.” He said and padded back down the hall.
Cassie opened the door to my bedroom as well. I was so thankful for all of her help. She went in front of me and quickly grabbed a dry towel and some clothes and brought them into the bathroom for me. I inclined my head in gratitude in her direction. I walked in and she closed the door behind her. Immediately, I transformed back into my human as soon as I was alone. I looked in the mirror and I realized that I looked terrible. Mud was clumped all over my face and the rest of my body. My eyes shined from the tears that I was holding in. My hair was mixed with twigs, mud, and who knows what else. I looked like I just came out of a tornado. I turned the water on and made sure it was the correct temperature before walking in. As soon as I was in, I couldn’t help but to break down and cry. I let every emotion that I was holding in seep out of my body and go into the drain, never to be seen again.
I left my emotions in the shower as I got out. I didn’t want to seem like the weak girl who would cry over anything. It was time to be tougher if I wanted my sister back. It felt like I was only in the shower for minutes, but in reality, I knew it had to have been a long time. I felt bad for Lucas. I knew he was waiting for me, but I had to stay in there until I was completely ready to face the rest of the day. I quickly got dressed and brushed my hair. The shower got most of the twigs out of my hair, but a few remained. I picked them out one by one and threw them into the garbage can. As soon as I was done, I opened the door and made my way over to the living room.
I spotted Lucas laying on the couch with his eyes closed. He must be exhausted. Unlike me, he never took a nap today. By what it seems, he must have had some meeting or something to attend to. That would be why he didn’t answer me right away when I called for him. Silently, I walked over to him and curled up beside him on the couch. I was still wet, but I don’t think he really minded.
With his eyes still closed, I heard him whisper, “you smell so nice.” I smiled up at him even though he couldn’t see me. I rested my head on his chest and laid there in the comfort of his massive arms. I felt like if I just laid here that I could forget about all my problems, forget about my world turning upside down. Forget how my sister is with my greatest enemy, and forget how my mother hates me. All I cared about at this exact moment was being with Lucas. He always knew how to comfort me. Not even saying anything apparently worked as well since I fell into a deep slumber.
